Chapter 307

Chapter 306

Shi Wuming's shameless behavior made Wen Qiao and the others feel as if they had been clung to.

But this guy had his own set of arguments: "Meeting is a matter of fate, proving that my bond with you fellow Daoists is extremely profound. Otherwise, how could we meet in such a vast mountain of bones? Since it's a heavenly arrangement, why don't we just go with the flow?"

Pei Qiyu sneered, "Your going with the flow means clinging to us?"

"How can it be called clinging? I've stayed in the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones for quite some time and am very familiar with this area. I can guide you." Shi Wuming looked very confident, "I'm sure you can't understand the skeletons' language and aren't familiar with the situation in the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, right?"

Indeed, otherwise they wouldn't have immediately rescued him upon seeing him.

Their purpose in rescuing him was to learn about the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones through him. However, they didn't expect him to be so shameless and always lead the conversation, saying little useful information but a lot of nonsense.

Ning Yuzhou said, "Since you are so familiar with this area, take us to find the Immortal Bone."

"Find the Immortal Bone?" Shi Wuming stared at him blankly, "Why do you need to find the Immortal Bone?"

"To refine the Bone Restoration Token, of course."

Shi Wuming's eyes widened in shock, and he spoke as if he couldn't form words properly, "Y-You can refine the Bone Restoration Token?"

"No, we can't!"

Shi Wuming: "..."

Ning Yuzhou calmly said, "But we can try."

Seeing Shi Wuming's exaggerated reactions, Pei Qiyu and Su Molan felt an immense sense of satisfaction. People like Shi Wuming, who have no shame, should be teased directly; talking nonsense with him is useless.

At this moment, Wen Qiao stood up, patted the big fur ball beside her, and said, "We've wasted a lot of time. Let's go."

Shi Wuming saw the other three stand up and asked blankly, "Where are you going?"

"To find the Immortal Bone!" Wen Qiao answered matter-of-factly.

Seeing the four of them trekking into the bone mountain, Shi Wuming had no choice but to follow them. He walked unsteadily, stumbling several times, which left the others speechless.

Pei Qiyu asked suspiciously, "You're an early-stage Yuanzong cultivator, yet you're even worse than an early-stage Yuanling cultivator. Could it be that your cultivation was forced up by something?"

After all, Ning Yuzhou, an early-stage Yuanling cultivator, performed better than him, and Ning Yuzhou was a weak alchemist.

Wen Qiao hadn't expected there would be someone even weaker than her husband, and she now looked at Shi Wuming with a disdainful eye, thinking he was truly useless.

Shi Wuming said with a bitter face, "Isn't it because I've been locked up by those skeletons for too long?"

Even if he had been locked up for a long time, without any injuries or illnesses, he shouldn't have become so weak, right?

Although they were skeptical, the four wisely didn't ask, guessing that if they did, this person would come up with a bunch of reasons, making it hard to distinguish truth from lies, and they would be too lazy to investigate.

As they were walking, suddenly a bone rolled down from above, hitting Shi Wuming on the head with a crisp "thud," sounding like a melon being struck.

Shi Wuming let out an "ouch" and squatted down, holding his head.

The four couldn't help but laugh. Su Molan kindly asked, "Young Master Shi, are you okay?"

Shi Wuming rubbed his head, which had been hit by the bone, and muttered, "I'm fine, just a bit sore."

Seeing that there wasn't even a red mark on his forehead, they knew he was indeed fine. Although the bones in the bone mountain were indeed hard, they were still within the tolerance range of a Yuanzong cultivator.

The five people, along with two demon beasts, continued climbing the bone mountain.

After climbing for a while, they found that Shi Wuming was definitely a drag, even slower than the big fur ball, Wen Guangun.

Shi Wuming even had the nerve to envy the big fur ball, running over to talk to it with malicious intent: "Brother Beast, looking at your mighty body and swift pace, why don't you carry me up the mountain?"

The big fur ball chirped at him.

Shi Wuming exclaimed joyfully, "Oh, you agree? Indeed, a good master has good demon beasts. Then I'll trouble you..."

Saying this, he tried to climb onto the big fur ball's fluffy back.

The big fur ball's round body directly rammed into him, rudely knocking him off the bone mountain.

If not for Wen Qiao's quick reflexes, using her whip to catch him, Shi Wuming would have already rolled down the mountain.

However, due to the terrain, he was now hanging halfway down the mountain, his feet several yards away from the nearest bone.

Pei Qiyu and Su Molan were utterly speechless at his antics.

Earlier, when they saw him talking to Wen Qiuqiu, they thought he might be like Baili Chi, able to understand beast language. But it turned out he was just talking to himself, and Wen Qiuqiu ignored him, revealing his true colors.

Hanging in mid-air, Shi Wuming shouted up to the others, "Quick, pull me up! I'm afraid of heights—ah ah ah—"

Wen Qiao rarely laughed, but she did this time, casually flicking her whip. The hanging Shi Wuming swung left and right, dizzy and almost foaming at the mouth, before she finally pulled him up with a sharp snap of the whip.

After this incident, Shi Wuming finally stopped trying to cause trouble and followed them obediently up the bone mountain.

Panting heavily as they reached the top of the mountain, Shi Wuming collapsed, sweating profusely.

Wen Qiao said in surprise, "It's just climbing a bone mountain; it shouldn't be this bad, right?"

All of them were cultivators and should have the strength to climb a bone mountain. Shi Wuming's state seemed to confirm Pei Qiyu's earlier guess: his Yuanzong cultivation might really have been forced up by elixirs or rare treasures.

Shi Wuming panted, "No, no choice. Ever since I came to the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, the skeletons took everything I had, not even leaving me a piece of clothing. I haven't cultivated for many years, and my cultivation has been restricted. Apart from retaining the cultivation level of a Yuanzong, my actual combat ability is even less than that of a Yuemai. So you must protect me, don't leave me behind! I'm very useful..."

Hearing this, Wen Qiao and the others felt even more that they had saved a burden, and a shameless one at that.

They hadn't seen any usefulness in him yet, only his extreme lack of shame.

Alas, it was no longer possible to leave anyone behind.

Suddenly, Su Molan said, "You weren't wearing clothes earlier, not because you wanted to escape, but because you didn't have any, right?"

This person didn't even have a storage bag, let alone clothes, truly coming and going with nothing but the skin on his back, very much a man of few possessions.

The other three also looked at him suspiciously.

Shi Wuming exclaimed, "Oh, you've figured me out!"

The four of them gave him a disdainful glance and ignored him.

At this moment, they stood atop the mountain, gazing into the distance.

On the backside of the Bone Mountain, clouds and mist swirled, and beneath the mist, there seemed to be a deep, bottomless chasm, though no one knew what place it was. The surrounding mist seemed to have its own consciousness, gathering there to obscure its traces, making it appear and disappear like the tip of an iceberg, enticing people to explore.

"What's down there?" Ning Yuzhou pointed into the depths of the mist and asked Shi Wuming.

Shi Wuming glanced and replied, "It's the Evil Spirit Abyss. They say there are evil spirits inside; you'd better not go in."

"Have you seen it?" Pei Qiyu asked him.

"Just heard, just heard!" Shi Wuming quickly said, "I haven't been there, nor have I seen it."

The four of them ignored him again. After surveying the Evil Spirit Abyss shrouded in mist, they began searching for the Immortal Bones.

According to Wen Qiuqiu, the Immortal Bones were within this Bone Mountain, and they needed to search inch by inch. Although the Immortal Bones were different from ordinary bones, they were mixed among many bones, whose auras masked the aura of the Immortal Bones, making them hard to find.

Fortunately, Wen Qiuqiu led the way, saving them a lot of effort.

Under Wen Qiuqiu's guidance, they carefully descended along the backside of the Bone Mountain.

As the saying goes, it's easy to climb up but hard to come down. The steep Bone Mountain caused them considerable trouble, and the bones attached to the mountain were not as stable as soil. A slight misstep could cause them to loosen, leading to a fall, bones and all. Even with cultivators' quick reflexes, the difficulties were still numerous.

In comparison, the Bone Mountain was much friendlier to skeletons. Skeletons climbed the mountain with light movements, using different points of support, allowing them to nimbly climb and run over loose bones.

Shi Wuming complained, "I hate bones! Those skeletons earlier tried to trap me with bones, pushing them down from above, almost crushing me to death. I haven't even found a wife yet; how can I die? If I really die, even as a skeleton, I won't let them off!"

He said it with venom.

Ning Yuzhou, Wen Qiao, and Su Molan all ignored his rambling.

Pei Qiyu mocked him mercilessly, "With your character, you want to find a wife? Which female cultivator would be blind enough to fancy you?"

Shi Wuming retorted sharply, "If someone like you can find a female cultivator willing to take you, why can't I?"

Pei Qiyu's expression turned murderous, and he almost pushed Shi Wuming down the mountain. Fortunately, Su Molan stopped him in time, or there might have been a real tragedy.

However, Pei Qiyu's impression of Shi Wuming plummeted instantly. If the situation were different, he would have really killed him.

Amidst the commotion, Wen Qiuqiu finally stopped.

Wen Qiuqiu stood before a hidden cave, chirping happily.

The cave was located in a recessed area, partially obscured by protruding bones, easily overlooked in the vast Bone Mountain.

Hearing the big ball's affirmation, Wen Qiao became excited and was about to enter when Ning Yuzhou held her back.

"Let Wen Guangun go in first," Ning Yuzhou said. This cave wasn't a den for skeletons. If the surrounding bones loosened and caused a collapse, they would be trapped inside.

They could have Wen Guangun reinforce the surroundings with Five Rock Earth to prevent such a disaster.

Although Wen Guangun was a lazy little creature, it was obedient when it came to work. Especially after Ning Yuzhou fed it a spirit pill, Wen Guangun immediately became energetic, jumping off Wen Qiao's shoulder and entering the cave.

With Wen Guangun leading the way, the group prepared to follow.

When it was Wen Qiuqiu's turn, it suddenly started chirping.

Everyone looked over and couldn't help but laugh, with Shi Wuming laughing the loudest.

He pointed at Wen Qiuqiu, who was blocking the entrance, and laughed loudly, "You, this demon beast, need to lose some weight!"

Wen Qiuqiu, usually so laid-back, was so enraged by Shi Wuming that it transformed into a spiky ball, even in a non-combat situation. It was clear how much Shi Wuming's words had stung. Even Su Molan thought he was being too harsh, finding it hard to believe he would insult such a cute, fluffy ball.

Wen Qiao quickly defended, "Nonsense, Wen Qiuqiu is perfect just the way it is. It's not fat; it's plump and adorable. Other demon beasts can't even achieve this look."

Praised by Xiaomiaomiao, Wen Qiuqiu chirped happily, its spiky fur returning to soft, silvery long hair.

Realizing Wen Qiuqiu couldn't fit through, Wen Qiao told it, "Stay here and keep watch. If any skeletons come, deal with them."

Wen Qiuqiu felt a bit disappointed, unable to accompany Xiaomiaomiao inside, but hearing its task, it perked up, chirping and promising to complete it.

Wen Qiao patted it, acknowledging its usefulness.

The five of them entered the cave. The height of the cave was manageable, but it was quite narrow, which is why Wen Qiuqiu, being a horizontally expansive fluff ball, got stuck at the entrance.

As they moved deeper, the space widened, resembling naturally formed caves.

However, this was a bone mountain, entirely constructed from bones, not naturally formed.

Though no one knew how the cave was formed, they didn't dwell on it, continuing deeper until the aura of the Immortal Bones became faintly detectable, no longer obstructed by the bones. The group's spirits lifted.

Even Shi Wuming was surprised, "There really are Immortal Bones here?"

At the end of the cave, in the darkness, against the wall, sat a skeleton, with several pieces of Immortal Bones scattered beside it.

The group cautiously observed the skeleton, only approaching to pick up the Immortal Bones once they confirmed it had no life and its eyes did not glow red.

There were five pieces of Immortal Bones in total.

"Five immortal bones... It’s unbelievable," Su Molan said in amazement, unable to take her eyes off the skeleton.

After all, they only managed to obtain one immortal bone at Corpse Lake.

In fact, that single immortal bone was the only piece of the fallen immortal's skeleton that hadn’t been tainted by demonic energy, and it was snatched away by Wen Qiuqiu.

At the time, when they heard that Wen Qiuqiu had taken it, they found it hard to believe, as this big fluffy ball rarely engaged in fights or killings. It left them with an impression of being too soft and cute, never imagining it would dare to do such a thing.

It could only be said that all the demon beasts were striving to nurture their little sprout. As long as they thought something could benefit the little sprout, they would snatch it no matter what.

Ning Yuzhou was examining the skeleton.

The bones were as white and lustrous as jade, and the skeletal structure looked quite impressive. If it had once been human, it was evident that this skeleton must have possessed considerable strength in life. However, it was now dead, making it impossible to determine whether it had been a human cultivator or a skeleton in life.

Pei Qiyu remarked, "Judging from the appearance of this skeleton, these immortal bones were likely collected here during its lifetime."

Yet, it was unclear why it had died here. Considering the cave, it seemed that the cave was probably artificially formed, and the skeleton had been hiding here before its death.

Although they couldn’t fully understand the relationship between the immortal bones and the skeleton, there were many unknowns and secrets in the world, not all of which could be thoroughly investigated.

After obtaining the immortal bones, they retraced their steps along the way.

Shi Wuming asked them, "Are you really going to refine the Bone Restoration Token with so many immortal bones?"

"What else would we use them for?" Wen Qiuqiu countered.

Shi Wuming clearly didn’t have much faith in Ning Yuzhou, "Refining the Bone Restoration Token isn’t that easy."

Suddenly, Wen Qiao punched him, and with a thud, Shi Wuming crashed into the bone wall, letting out a pained cry. The sound made Pei Qiyu’s scalp tingle, as he recalled the time in the Ten Thousand Bone Flame Land when Wen Qiao had unexpectedly punched him.

Indeed, not everyone could withstand Wen Qiao’s punches.

Shi Wuming, on the verge of tears, clutched the spot where he had been hit and asked in a wronged tone, "Why did you hit me?"

Wen Qiao said righteously, "Who told you to look down on my husband? You haven’t even started refining it, yet you keep pouring cold water on us. That’s too much."

Shi Wuming: "..."

At that moment, Ning Yuzhou smiled at Shi Wuming, his smile unusually gentle and elegant, but with a hint of smugness.

His little wife was standing up for him.

Shi Wuming immediately felt indignant, "So what if I have a wife? Wait until I get out of here, and I’ll find a wife who is highly cultivated and skilled in alchemy, talismans, and arrays to protect me!"